(UK related content) There could come a time when you may want to expand your window cleaning business and so getting your first employee is crucial to that goal. Where do you get your staff? How do you interview? What should you look out for?

Here at WCM we have all the questions to these answers and more. Today we are looking at employing your first employee for your window cleaning business.

There are 6 things you should consider at the time you are ready. Being prepared and doing the research is key to everything. Hopefully this run down will point you into the right direction.

One thing to make you aware of is as soon as you hire your first employee you then become governed by employment law. It would be advisable for you to immerse your self into this topic. This site will help you https://www.gov.uk/employing-staff

Here we have the top 6 things you should do before hiring staff:

Health & Safety – A documented health and safety policy is a legal requirement if you employ five or more people. If you have fewer than five employees you do not have to write anything down, though it is considered useful to do so if, for example, something changes.

A lot of new businesses make the mistake of thinking they do not need a company health & safety system. And in theory HSE say should you have less than 5 employees you don’t need one.

I disagree. From day one it is good practice to create your company H&S System the minute you hire your first employee, infact I would be as bold as to say the minute you set your business up. Why? Well consider this. You are governed by the same risks and laws as the window cleaning company with 5 or more employees. Your H&S System demonstrates to the HSE that you have considered risks within your business and have relayed this information to your employee, and that the employee understands those risks. Furthermore those risks may attract further training that is connected to an activity such as ‘using a ladder’.

If an employee has an accident at work and that employee is either seriously injured or worse killed, then HSE will look for evidence of training and risk assessments. Not got these? You’re in hot water.

HSE are not going to say, “hey, you only have one employee….. Why didn’t you say anything..?” ..And walk away! The penalty fine or possible prosecution for manslaughter will be enough to close you down.

Prove that your employee, Jimmy, was shown how to use a ladder and he understood it and that he was given the risk assessment you did for that activity. Your H&S System will take care of this together with your training program.

I would recommend you taking an IOSH course. They cost about a 100 quid and takes a day to complete.

Get a PAYE reference for your business – You will have to tell HMRC that you are now an employer. They will set you up on a PAYE Scheme (Pay As You Earn)

With this, you will get a unique PAYE reference number for your business. Any payments made through PAYE will include your PAYE reference. This will be the reference you give to the payroll company that will handle your payroll. Any payments for deducted income tax or National Insurance Contributions (NIC) from your employees pay will be paid directly to HMRC. Be prepared to pay an amount to HMRC as employers have to contribute to the employees NIC.

Get employers liability insurance or EL – This is a legal requirement. Some commercial clients will ask for your certificate. This insurance covers for damages caused by your employees or should an employee claim against your business. The cost of this is usually 3+ times more (depending on how many employees) than a standard Public Liability or PL.

Setting your terms and conditions of employment – Before employing an employee, learn about employee statuary rights. These are the base MUST HAVE terms in the work contract between you and your employee. This is usually called a Statement of Terms and Conditions of Employment. With in that you will state things such as place of the business, employees details, agreed pay and hours worked.

The T&C’s will also include your company rules on things such as smoking or dress code and will outline disciplinary procedures and holiday entitlement.

My advice here would be this. Think about the work you have, is some of this unsociable hours, do you need employees to work weekends for example? Make sure your employee understands working weekends is required. You make the rules, its your business and your clients, but be fair.

Deciding on a pay rate – Pay rates differ from place to place in the UK. If your employee is an apprentice then pay the apprentice rate. For a window cleaner that does not drive you could be looking at a pay rate anywhere from minimum wage to £8 per hour (date of written article 21/2/17).

On average employees that drive will be paid between 8 and 10 per hour. The tail end towards the 10 mark is more reserved for employees with some responsibility. But it is up to you how much you want to pay per hour. And if the work is rope access then that hourly rate starts to climb.

One myth to blow out of the water… ‘if you pay your staff right and look after them, they will stay with you’. In reality it does not work that way. It is all down to the mind set of the person you chose to employ. I will discuss this topic ‘weeding out your future employee/competitors’ in a later blog.

Managing the payroll – When I first started, my first employee was my sister. I had my PAYE Scheme and my accountant dealt with the paper work side to this. At first I paid cash with a PAYE wage slip into small money packs, weekly. When my business grew and I was hiring many more people, I needed to out source this work and pay via bank transfer.

Usually there is a small nominal fee to set up each employee with a Payroll Company and then a cost such as £1.75 per employee each time the payroll run was carried out. When your crew grows to 10, 20, 30 you are talking £50 to £70 per week.

We decided to move our payroll to monthly pay therefore cutting this cost by 75%!

A payroll company will also deal with your legal Pension Automatic Enrolment responsibilities… more on ‘Auto Enrol – don’t get ripped off!’ in a later blog.

 Good luck, on your first employee. It really is not as scary as it might seem.

With the UK economy still struggling to rise out of recession, huge uncertainty around Brexit and growing business pressures with new legislation on minimum wage and pensions; The Cleaning Show is offering free seminar sessions from a wide range of industry experts to help you grow your business.

On Wednesday 15^th March 2017 the afternoon programme will be aimed at SMEs with the aim of Growing Your Business. The presentations will start at 1.30pm with Luke Elliott and Roberta Donzelli from Amazon Business, Industrial & Scientific Supplies explaining ‘How to hack the online market: Insider tips on finding growth’.

Dan Weltin, editor of US based Sanitary Maintenance magazine will also be flying in for the occasion to discuss trends within the market and how business could be about to change for many companies working within the cleaning sector.

There will also be a wealth of marketing advice from speakers Darren Hepburn from NewZapp who will explain how to harness the power of email marketing and Suzanne Howe from SHC who will focus on the power of social media. Chris Klopper from Mulberry will also be looking at the importance of PR and managing in a crisis.

Finally, the programme for the day will be completed with Anthony Wilkey and Michelle Cachucho from Best Minds who will look at how to increase revenues through proven strategies and technology, giving attendees a shortlist of actions for them to take away and apply to their businesses for immediate results.

At the time of printing over 6,000 professionals have already registered for their passes to attend the UK’s largest hygiene and cleaning event including contract cleaners, facility managers and others with cleaning and hygiene responsibility from care homes, hospitals, restaurants, leisure facilities, academic institutions, transport and major retailers.

Attendees will also be able to try out a wide range of new products, attend a wide range of other seminars including HR, Health & Safety and The Future of Facilities Management.

Registration to attend is free-of-charge -sign up now at: www.cleaningshow.co.uk

This actually comes with experience, it’s not 100% because humans can be unpredictable but what I am about to tell you may help you cut the head off any homegrown future competitor you might have in the future.

Firstly let, me explain what I mean by homemade competition. These are employees that benefit from your training and support but have then decided to jump your ship and start paddling their own dingy in your paddling pool. Lets face it; we are in the business of making a business not in the business of training up one-man bands. That is just a waste of everyone’s time.

Annoying to say the least, but this does not have to be a toxic relationship (I will discuss this more in a later blog called Home Grown Competition – How to keep it Civil)

The fact of the matter is this. You have worked hard to build your business and you have set your goal. You might want 5 vans in your fleet, you might want 10, you might want 100… your business plan might be 100% residential or your plan might be the store king of your region. Whatever that goal is, sounds like you need a lot of good staff.

Employing crew for your window cleaning business can sometimes be a nightmare but there are protection elements you can utilise and risk assessments you can carry out that will minimise your exposure to the ‘homemade competitor syndrome’.

Most of this filtering work is done at the interview stage. I will discuss this further in another blog called ‘Interviewing for staff -how to filter out the rubbish’.

Once you have selected your new crewmember and they have checked all your filtering boxes, that employee becomes subject to a 3-month trial period. The interview and assessment is continued.

You will study this employee over the next 3 months… how do they gel with the rest of the team? Are they on time? What is the work quality really like? How do they act around your customers? What types of questions do they ask about your business?

What sounds do they make relating to pay Vs prices the company charges your customers?

You will be looking at where your goals are for your business. If you want to expand then you may be looking at leadership skills. Somebody that questions you over your business and operations may be of interest, however, somebody that asks how much you charge or why do you charge that price should be looked at a little more closely. I must stress this all needs to be done in context of the wider picture.

It may be that the person’s good nature Vs their seemingly intrusive questions surrounding your pricing or how much you pay a contractor for example, may point towards a great supervisor or manager but it may be somebody you need to watch.

Here are some signs to look out for and how to deal with them.

Do they complain a lot? – Complaining is a sure sign of discord and needs to be stamped out. Some examples to watch are as follows.

If a job is hard they may complain about the difficulty Vs the wages they are paid.

If you have decided to install tracking devices into your vehicles, they may complain and say it’s like ‘big brother’ watching you.

They may complain about working hours a lot.

Arrange a meeting with the employee. Discuss the issues. Ask if they are happy? If not why? In this meeting you can apply your filters again. Compare them with the initial interview. Go with your gut feeling and not what work you have on…. Is this person working out for your business? Discord amongst employees can be cancerous so deal with it head on. You don’t need it in your business.

Asking intrusive questions -The employee might ask questions about your business and operation, this may even extend into questions relating to financial aspects. Some of this may be completely innocent but as always you will know when the line is being crossed. They may ask:

How much do you charge for gutters and how did you get to that price?

How much did you pay that contractor?

How do you quote a house then?

How much does that cost?

What was the price of that powered access hire?

In my opinion this employee may be asking far too many financial questions than what is considered normal far above their job, they really do not need to know all of this information. This information is reserved for you and your immediate management staff.

Call a meeting with the employee and ask them directly why they ask the questions they have? Explain that this information is reserved for management.

Don’t allow them to carry out private work – This forms part of your employment T&C’s and other legal documents. This is prohibited during employment. How do you know if they are carrying out private work with your equipment and van?

They are not achieving the daily target for the same time.

They disappear a lot or unavailable on the phone.

They take unexplained days of work.

Their work hours are all over the place.

Customers calling to book another clean, customers you have never heard of before.

Missing cash/cheques.

Job sheet does not tally.

Unusual stops spotted on tracking devices.

Call a meeting with the employee with evidence of the prohibited work and ask them to explain. Use the disciplinary procedure and depending on the severity of the situation and the T&C’s of employment you may wish to apply an instant dismissal. An employee acting like this is not right for your business.

They come across as knowing better than you do – When a supervisor thinks they know better than you when it comes to running your business and acts like it, this behaviour needs to be addressed immediately. They may display the following attributes:

Showing signs of grandiose.

Act untouchable – ‘you need me.’

Make sensitive business decisions on your behalf without consultation.

Showing signs of entitlement.

Argue with you over work.

Once a ‘can do’ guy now refuses to help any more than they have to.

This is a bad situation. One would assume warnings and chats about behaviour and conduct has taken place along the way. This person is not right for your business and is ready to fly the cope. They may even be waiting for the right time to leave you in the poop. Act fast, act swiftly within the law, be ahead of the curve and catch them out. You cannot bring this employee back into the fold as they are not listening… they are already planning their own business.

Constantly asking for pay rises – This I have personal experience of. First – pay a fair wage, pay on time and be consistent. I guarantee you, paying staff higher than normal rates does not mean they will not leave. There are other ways of showing gratitude in good work.

One passed employee (supervisor) would constantly ask for a pay rise. It was never enough. He was on a good wage, had use of a company vehicle and mobile. I helped him a lot with cash bonuses, even brand new furniture from my house and paid off his credit card debt. Now you’d think that would buy a little loyalty wouldn’t you?

Staff that hold you over a barrel for more money are not the staff for you, but you should explain to the employee the best way of approaching the subject of pay rises with management. Those that say, “ I been offered more money to work over at Low Shine Ltd. If you don’t pay me a 2-pound increase I will be leaving High Shine Ltd” – let them go. They are not the right employees for you and your business.

Other ways that help protect you.

1 – Interview filters.

2 – Ongoing assessment.

3 – Have legal documents signed.

A training agreement ties the employee to refunding part or all of provided training if they leave the company before a set date. A restrictive covenant agreement that is realistic and stands up in a court of law will need to be signed. This document will set out non-poaching of staff, confidentiality, copyright, intellectual property, a clause on social media, non compete together with a non solicitation and non dealing covenants.

Lastly, so what is a good employee?

A good quality window cleaner that knows how to tackle quality issues.

One that is good at dealing with customers.

One who hardly ever misses a day at work.

One that respects management and shares the company’s vision.

One you could see running your business in your absence.

One that has routine.

A good leader and team player.

Easily likable and approachable.

Not afraid of hard work or pulling up the sides or working unsociable hours.

Can motivate staff.

Can train staff and communicate instructions well.

Can discipline staff if needed

Can navigate challenges outside their comfort zone.

Is a company person.

One that’s looking for a stable long career.

You want to grow your business with employees that want to see it grow too, that have pride in their work and the logo on their shirt. The logo you designed in the early days of your business. Remember you dont need the wrong employee’s, dont ever let them think that. You will end up with a great crew and in fact you may never even come across this situation again.

This is the Tucker Dual Trim brush

Tucker have been making water fed brushes since the 1950’s. For decades they have spent time and more than a shed load of cash perfecting this product.

The Tucker dual trim is a quality made brush with a great performance and the secret is in the high quality bristles used.

The stock holds over 22,848 of them, that is nearly 23,000 points of contact to the glass!

When you combine that with a classic dual trim design and using quality materials, this brush turns out not be one of the cheapest on the market, but you pay for what you get…. so they say.

For all you weight junkies out there that feel that even the slightest addition of weight equivalent to a ‘feather’ is some how detrimental to your health or business … I never get that, especially when it is sooooo marginal and sooooo lite… this brush weighs in at 270 grams for the 12″ brush head.

The brush comes in 100% nylon or as a hybrid dual trim using hogs hair inner bristles.

At the moment it comes in two sizes, 12″ and 18″…. erm, that’s actual bristles on the glass and not stock size.

I have been using the 12″ for the past 4 months. At first I had concerns about the corners of the stock, I thought this might cause dents if I bumped it into soft wood on sash windows for example. Whereas Tucker said they could provide a bumper trim in order to deal with that, after testing on national coffee chain stores that have these sash windows, I found this not a problem after all.

The bristles splay well and are densely packed compared to recent Gardiner brushes I have used for example and so I can say definite advantages in some job use and conditions.

WCM TV visited three window cleaners around the UK who had bought the Tucker brush. We asked how they are getting on. You can watch this film here.

Where to buy this product? Window Cleaning Magazine recommends: CLEANING SPOT for the UK – OSMOWORKS for the NLD – WaterFed Poles (By WCR) for the USA

Want to be a Tucker distributor? Contact email here: shawn@rhgproducts.com

The latest product to excite window cleaners today is yet again another squeegee channel. For some reason we go nuts over our most traditional of tools and this latest offering is no exception. To be fair I started drooling at the mouth the moment I saw it and I have been testing this product for Window Cleaning Magazine for the past few days. I am talking the LEGEND squeegee channel.

New to Canada only, that was until today’s announcement. Before today this channel could only be bought in Canada! BlackDiamond announced as distrubitors of the channel for selling into the USA and Europe. So hold on to your britches US and UK, because a bit of Legend is coming your way.

So what is the Legend channel? I will be brief as Mark Strange, our very own Canadian product reviewer for the Magazine will have the full details in the next issue of Window Cleaning Magazine. But essentially it is a wide-bodied channel with tapered ends to assist in navigating those pesky window corners. It is also able to take both T-shape or rounded rubber allowing the user to choose their favorite rubber brand.

We caught up with Casper Schjorring of BlackDiamond and asked him about this announcement today.

WCM: So you are the new distributor for the USA and Europe of the Legend Squeegee Channel. How did that come about?

Casper: Gilles Robichaud is the manufacturer and designer of the Legend. He is Canadian and the owner of WCS in Canada. We have been working on our own channel for some time and then when I talked to Gilles and found out they were doing the same thing, our design and ideas were very similar. With this type of product with less detailing we had something that would save the window cleaner time.

WCM: Why were you working on your own squeegee channel?

Casper: I think there is always a good reason to look at perfecting something further and make what is good even better. It has always irritated me that channels were made for one rubber type. That was one thing for me I needed to crush. But a major thing for me was to be able to get the best products to the customers without over charging for it too. If you look at the market today you do see some of the old big players trying to control both pricing and products. I believe we can make a change to that like we did with our rubbers – saving the cleaners money and still make a decent profit for us.

WCM: What were you looking at perfecting before discovering Gilles Robichaud’s Legend squeegee channel?

Casper: Design wise I love the wide channel design and the Legend express a lot of my thoughts too. I think Gilles did a great job there. I have always been a fan of he Sorbo Channel but I also knew that it had flaws. With this channel giving more options on the rubber and also being a wide type I think we are getting close to something extraordinary.

WCM: How did you and Gilles get talking about the product? What did he think when you told him you were working on a similar idea?

Casper: I called him up lol – It was a natural thing for Gilles and I to go this way together, with BlackDiamond being the distributor both in the USA and Europe. We both see the industry in the same way and we both have passion for the industry. Great minds think alike.

WCM: Will you make a specially cut rubber for this channel? In fact rumor has it you do have a new rubber coming out?

Casper: Yes we have a new rubber out mid march for both the Legend and the Wagtail.

WCM: The small waves you have been making into the industry are beginning to feel like large waves? You love business, this drives you?

Casper: Of course it drives me. I’m an engineer and product development is in my veins. But also like we do with the BlackDiamond squeegee rubber – we can make a great product at a lower price doing it more direct.

WCM: I have tested it out myself… I love it, closing out on deep frames will require a small adjustment to your style if above your head with a pole… it feels super light too…. Will BlackDiamond rubber now come as standard with the Legend?

Casper: I’m glad you liked it. Yes we are working on getting the BlackDiamond Squeegee rubber into all new channels.

So there you have it. The Legend is on its way to you.

Where to buy: BlackDiamondSqueegee.com for USA and Europe. WCS and Beautiful View – The Window Cleaning Store for Canada.

FREE BLACKDIAMOND SQUEEGEE RUBBER WITH EVERY PRINTED ISSUE OF WINDOW CLEANING MAGAZINE – MAY/JUNE 2017 COPY. Keep an eye out for it ( whilst stocks last)  

Next month Josh Latimer releases a powerful advanced mapping tool that allows the user to target a single house or a single neighbourhood and then with a click of a button sends mailers out to the selected properties. The software looks so user friendly it’s insane.

By simply grabbing an area you can ‘radius’ off an area of your choice. Want all those very expensive villas in the millionaire’s row? Select, click and your mailers are out the door from the comfort of your own home, probably sitting in your underwear too!

This is probably going to be the best marketing tool your business will have to date.

Josh Latimer is a regular writer for Window Cleaning Magazine. We will have the full low down with Josh on this awesome bit of software.

‘Game changer’ are two words that are thrown about too often when innovations arise in our industry. Radius Bomb might actually own it, once everyone realises the real potential of this marketing gem.

The Cleaning Show 2017, taking place at the ExCeL Centre in London on March 14th to 16th, will have a strongly Italian flavour for the first time this year, with a large number of the nation’s key players in the cleaning and hygiene sector displaying their products and services on site during the 3-day event.

Italy has been a leading force in the cleaning equipment and services sector for many years and – thanks to a recently formed partnership with AFIDAMP – the Italian national cleaning industry association – the organisers have been able to attract strong support from both well-known names and new faces on the Italian scene. Visitors to the Cleaning Show 2017 will be able to network with such companies as Sofidel, TTS, Vaclensa, Jet Service, Eurovast, Prima Folder, Luca Solutions, Silver Paper SpA, Interchem Italia and Lavorwash among others, offering an even wider range of potential suppliers than ever before.

There will also be an international flavour to the free-to-attend seminar sessions with Dan Weltin, editor in chief of Sanitary Maintenance magazine flying in from the USA to talk about how the Cleaning Industry is embracing the Internet of Things and Andreas Lill, director general of the of the European Federation of Cleaning Industries (EFCI) joining us to from Belgium to look at the European Cleaning Industry’s take on Brexit.

What’s more, with over 6,000 already registered to attend the event next month, it has been confirmed that almost 10% of those who have so far applied for their pass to attend are from overseas.

Vanessa van Santen-Smith, event director said “We are absolutely delighted to see so many visitors coming from all over the world this year. There are registered visitors from 70 different countries so far, showing that the Show in London is going from strength-to-strength. I can’t wait to welcome them to London and what is promising to be an incredible Cleaning Show”.

Registration to attend is free-of-charge -sign up now at: www.cleaningshow.co.uk

There is nothing like ‘paying it forward’, ‘doing a good deed’, or doing something nice because you are a nice person with empathy and love for other human beings.

Window washer Mark Errico of Allegheny Window Cleaning Inc. Pittsburgh USA and his crew of three others fit that bill yesterday as they cleaned a Children’s Hospital dressed as Captain America, Batman, Spider-Man and Superman.

Patients, their families, hospital staff and passers by were treated to the spectacle as the four super heroes washed the windows of the Hospital. “They come running up to the glass. They’re just excited to see you,” said Errico, 30, of Plum

Please watch the video they made here https://youtu.be/glJoXvHk8Ac

Original news source Triblive.com

A woman from Bloomfield thought nothing of her $20,000 ring that was not on her dresser thinking her husband had secured it earlier in the day. It wasn’t until she spoke to her husband later that she discovered he had neither put it away or secured it. The woman then reported the incident to the police.

It turned out that a window cleaning crew arrived that day on March 27th to clean the windows. When she was busy with one window washer another went into the bedroom and stole the ring.

Police investigations revealed that the ring was sold in Auburn Hills to a pawn shop by one Veronica Perez on the same day it was stolen! Veronica is the wife of Omar Rivera-Baez, who police worked out, was the employee of the window cleaning company.

Both suspected individuals turned themselves into the Police Department and gave a full confession.

Luckily the victim was able to get her ring back from the pawnshop, unluckily tho she had to pay the pawn shop $1,750. Ouch!

Perez and Rivera-Baez have been charged with one count of larceny in a building and are awaiting court dates.

^^ AC Lockyer of Softwash Systems

Softwash Systems from the US have been touring the UK with their new UK distributor Purple Rhino.

Window Cleaning Magazine spoke with AC Lockyer of Softwash Systems and Darren Smith of Purple Rhino today as they were driving between gigs.

The UK tour consisted of visits to Glasgow, Leeds, Birmingham, Bristol and finally Ashford in Kent.

“The turnout and interest has been amazing”, says Darren and AC, “ The weather has certainly helped too!”

Monday 24^th April will be the last classroom day followed by a practical day on the 25^th April.

Window Cleaning Magazine will be documenting the practical day on the 25^th April.

The starting point for this will be the business premises of Purple Rhino:

Purple Rhino Contract Cleaning Ltd

Unit 14, Henwood Business Park
Ashford
Kent
TN24 8DH

…from there everyone will head off to a REAL job, where AC and Darren will demonstrate Softwash Systems chemicals and equipment in ‘real life’ circumstances.

In my opinion, even the just curious, need to see this…

Window Cleaning Magazine will be giving out free back issues for all those that attend.

A Manhattan building co-op and window Installation Company got slammed with a joint settlement pay out of $9M. The settlement was accepted last month.

Robert Domaszowec 49, fell at least 12 stories to his death in an accident that hit the headlines back in 2008. He was washing a bedroom window on the 17-story on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. He was found with his harness, squeegee and applicator by his side.

Tracy Domaszowec, his widow, fought a hard, long lawsuit against those she thought responsible.

Contractors involved in work carried out at the apartments surrounding the installation of new windows were dismissed as well as the tenant, a wealthy member of the Bulgari family, one of the world’s most successful jewelers as they found themselves whipped up wrongfully into the lawsuit.

The window installation company Panorama Windows along with 40 Fifth Avenue were kept in the case.

Evidence revealed Panorama employees used a reciprocating saw during construction and installation of new windows to the Bugari apartment. The company used the saw to cut away nuts and bolts that secured anchors in the framing of the master bedroom window. It appeared Mr Domaszowec never saw that the anchors, which he attached his harness to, were not secured!

Panorama Windows took the lion share of the pay out at $6.4M with the building co-op for 40 Fifth Avenue paying out $2.6M. It was found that the building owner and manager of 40 Fifth Avenue were responsible for not providing Mr Domaszowec with enough protection against the risks tied to elevated window cleaning.

The summary judgment ruling set important precedent, because New York courts had normally cited Brown v. Christopher Street Owners as interpreting the statute to cover commercial window washing but not cleaning done in a residence.

Car window washers stir multiple feelings in people from anger, to surprise and excitement and when you least expect it.  It is easy to recognize it as a job for the thick skinned. Hey but when you’re hungry it beats breaking into a house and stealing, right?

New Zealand has its fair share of pop up intersection cleaners that have dogged Councils and Police and created huge headaches with the general public on busy roads.

A new law change that would allow for on-the-spot fines to be issued against car window washers passed its first reading April 12^th. Public feedback is currently being sought on the Land Transport ( Vehicle User Safety) Amendment Bill, first introduced to Parliament back in December last year.

This all came to ahead back in 2014 when a motorist in New Plymouth objected to his car screen being cleaned. He was assaulted by the window washer at the Eliot and Leach St intersection. The victim was punched in the face and left with a black eye.

If the bill is approved it will be down to the police to enforce the fines of around $150.

‘Yeah-nah’ as the Kiwis say… how many of these street car window cleaners will have the money to pay that?

Wellington City Council have had 34 complaints from motorists in the past 15 months alone whilst other cities such as Auckland and Christchurch also problems with these petrol headed clean freaks trying to make a crust. Auckland and Christchurch already have by-laws to deal with the problem.

There was a mixed reaction to the proposed law change from people who posted their opinion on the Taranaki Daily News’ Facebook page.  While some considered the windows washers to be intimidating and a traffic hazard, others said they didn’t have a problem with it and it was good to see young people showing initiative.

The bill is currently before the Transport and Industrial Relations committee and the public have until June 1 to lodge their submissions.

HAVE YOUR SAY ON THIS NEWS TOPIC IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW. ARE CAR WINDOW WASHERS INTIMIDATING? ARE THEY SOCIAL LOSERS? OR ARE THEY JUST INNOVATIVE PEOPLE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO MAKE A CRUST?

I noticed this post yesterday in the Window Cleaning Magazine Facebook Group. A member had posted something they found else where on Facebook. It was a post about a window cleaner displaying his prices that were far lower than the average, in some cases by 50%.

So what is the logic behind this? Is it that the window cleaner in question has no idea what to charge or is it something more sinister such as undercutting the competition?

The answer is probably a bit of the two. I remember when I started out window cleaning. I had set up M&B Window Cleaning with a school friend.

He would insist on giving prices at the beginning of our joint partnership far lower than I was comfortable with. In fact so insane were the prices I argued that they were not worth doing. That partnership split soon after and I forged a window cleaning business and he, well…. Eventually did another job, as window cleaning was not paying the bills. Go figure!

There are a few factors here to consider when ‘sounding off’ about window cleaners undercutting the local going rate.

Are they new to the business?

A learning curve or drive to build a customer base at the beginning of a window cleaning business may include undercutting the going rate. This is done both consciously and unconsciously. The drive to build a customer base quick kicks in the ‘fight or flight’ mode of the brain. Offering lower prices to the new window cleaning business would appear to be the best way to build a residential round quickly if not for survival or following business success…. to stay in the game, to get traction.

This is the unconscious mode.

The conscious mode is when you discover you are lower than your competitor; this is where the drive to squeeze out that competitor becomes overwhelming. They are new to the business and have no idea what they are doing… TO THEMSELVES!

Here’s the down side for the new window cleaner. He is building a round of below average prices. Everything he wants now in life will be below average if this is his main business model.

When the window cleaner charging a fair correct price is able to take his family on holiday, the below average window cleaner will be finding the money to meet the car insurance for the work horse he uses to get him to his customers. When the fair correct priced window cleaner is buying safety equipment, insurance and water fed pole systems, the below average guy will be working from ladders, risking his safety and probably hasn’t even thought of insurance.

That isn’t the worse of it. Below average priced window cleaners will find they have not created a business, they have created a job. Creating a job will mean you cannot increase your work with employees, the very key to business success. You simply do not earn enough; you probably will earn just enough to stick fuel in your tank. It also means there is a limit to how much you can do! If there is a limit to what you can do, why would you cut that by 50%?

Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of window cleaners out there that work solo charging the right amount for their area with no desire to expand their business with more work or employees (that is another topic for later, ‘Caught in the Solo Bubble) but you live comfortably and you are able to cover sickness and holiday time and some more. That’s a kind of business!

Newbie tricks and mind set.

 A newbie window cleaner might think providing a below average price, much lower than the going rate for the area is a fine sure way of building a business fast, and you know what they would be right… short term.

So then what?

Well two things are going to happen. They would of created a job probably earning around £10 per hour. They will probably stay like this and they may even have to fiddle the books to make ends meet or sign on.

But here’s the other blow, everyone knows that a residential window cleaner can potentially go out and earn £250 in an 8-hour day. But you won’t collect £250. You will be lucky to collect £100! Now you have got to chase the debtors to PAY YOUR DEBTORS. A cycle that will eventually lead you into taking a full time job, maybe you will hold on to some cash work on a Saturday.

Those with the mindset for ‘short term’ below average prices. I like your style; you got to get your foot in the door, right? I understand, and then eventually you will can all the below average priced residential work because you have built up a business with good prices and great payers.

Who are the losers?

If you are talking ‘short term’ mindsets, it is the customers that are the losers. They ditch window cleaners and follow the lower price. But lose out with the ‘short term’ mindset window cleaner as he ditches them for better work, they then get a shock when they are forced to pay full price. They benefit for 5 minutes. They hedge their funds.

Do you want a secure loyal customer or one that will look for the better deal? Lets face it we are not talking billions of pounds here like hedge fund companies, we are talking pennies and pounds. In my opinion if your customer is late all the time with their payment, when you finally get them at the door they scratch around the house for change in order to pay you… or they move to another window cleaner for something like a quid, then they are not the right customers for you!

Let me repeat that – those that have canned you for the lower than average priced window cleaners are NOT THE RIGHT CUSTOMER FOR YOU! Don’t sweat it, there are plenty more that are right for your business.

The last word goes to the serial below average window cleaner who consciously undercuts local going rates…… wait, I have no words for you

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Hi, my name is Henry Hawran of Pinewood Cleaning Contractors. I started my career in window cleaning in early 1985. I was a 20-year-old college student working towards a degree in Mechanical Engineering. There was just one problem: the more I studied and worked in that field the less I enjoyed it.

By chance, I came across a book by cleaning guru Don Aslet. He mentioned the proper method for cleaning windows and so I went out and bought a squeegee and cleaned the windows of my own house. I was hooked. As I jokingly tell people today, I found a way to turn Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in to a pretty darn good living.

Through mostly word of mouth, I have built up a very good base of regular residential and commercial clients. Since those early days and that very first squeegee, I have added Water fed Pole technology in addition to traditional. We use the Ettore/RHG 4 stage system and Unger Hi-Mod Carbon poles.

How did you come up with your business name?

Being a huge James Bond fan, I named my business Pinewood Cleaning Contractors after the movie studio where the Bond films are made. I am presently going into my 32nd year of window cleaning (I am 51 now) and enjoy it more than ever. My location is Kalamazoo, Michigan USA and most of the Southwest lower Michigan.

Funny moments?

My most humorous work moments involve instances of having to clean around things such as giant Halloween decorations but also instances of getting locked out while up on a rooftop somewhere!

My advice to all window cleaners?

In addition to being good at your work, be the person that a customer would be comfortable to have working in their home or business, Be neat. Be polite. Be honest. Be respectable. My favorite motto that I use in my business “A championship race horse runs his own race. He doesn’t spend all his time looking at what the other horses are doing”.

What I like about Window Cleaning Magazine?

It reminds me that I am not alone in my industry and that there are others whom I can learn from.